Nissan not shuttering Leaf EV battery plants, at least not yet By

The big news on the electric vehicle front today is that Nissan is considering slowing down EV battery production in the US and UK and source all of Nissan's big packs come from Japan.

This incredible Mercedes V12 sculpture is built from bone, wood and fossils

We've seen some impressive automotive replicas, but this one definitely takes the prize as the most unique yet.

1967 Toyota 2000GT Solar Electric Vehicle

You may have packed James Bond's cars with plenty of killer tech (get it?), but the 1967 Toyota 2000GT you see above has got it's own bad boy secrets.

Ford Mondeo Titanium X Sport

The Ford Mondeo range of cars offers the best in style, appearance and performance on the roads without compromising on quality or safety.

Corvette Z06 tops Motor Trend list of shortest-stopping vehicles

Any modern performance car worth buying puts just as much emphasis on stopping as it does on going

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Torture-tested Ford EcoBoost V6 engine torn down at Detroit Auto Show



by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Exactly as promised, Ford sent a couple of technicians to the show floor at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show in front of a live audience to disassemble the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine that was torture-tested for the equivalent of a few hundred thousand miles of rigorous duty on the dyno and in the engine bay of various F-Series trucks.

How'd it fair? Rather well, we'd say, and it managed to churn out 364 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque on the dyno after all the abuse it took. That matches up rather well with the factory ratings of 365 horses and 420 lb-ft.

As you might expect, there was a good amount of carbon build-up on the piston crowns and the valves – think of how much dust was surely ingested over the course of 1,062 miles of the Baja 1000 race, which this engine took part in, finishing first overall in its class – along with a 13-percent loss on one cylinder during the leak-down test. All other initial measurements were well within factory tolerances, and Ford will continue testing each individual piece from this engine to ensure its durability.

No doubt about it, this is an impressive showing for the EcoBoost engine.

Monday, January 3, 2011

BMW Unscripted follows Tiffany Coates around the globe



by Zach Bowman

The last time we heard from BMW Unscripted, an ancient 5 Series was stalking the tall grass of South Africa in search of meerkats. Now the company has turned its attention to Tiffany Coates and her BMW R80GS. The duo have traversed the globe together, ranging over five continents and covering untold miles in the process. For Coates, no country or region is off limits, and she's spent time everywhere from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Alaska and Australia. Her travel is impressive, without a doubt, though we're more taken with the perspective that her gallivanting has given her.

"People always assume that the world is full of dangerous places, and they think, and they say as well, that I'm mad to go travelling where I do. I always replay, 'but, 99.9 percent of people in the world are really nice, decent people like you and I.'"

We can think of a few politicians that could use some time in the saddle of an R80GS. Hit the jump to have a look at a slice of Coates' life on the road, and remember not to let your fear rule you, people. There's a whole world out there just waiting to meet you.